Toyota Cup Wrap - Round 12

While Manly-Warringah maybe anchored to the bottom of the table with the
Gold Coast, they didn't let that stop them put in a strong showing
against former competition leaders Brisbane, whose NRL side is also in
some sort of mid-season slump. The Sea Eagles led 24-16 at the break and
went on with the job after halftime, leading 36-16 before the Broncos
shot back - a treble to five-eighth Bryce Hegarty not enough to propel
Brisbane to a win.

Moved to the Bulldogs' NSW Cup home ground at Bass Hill due to the NRL
double header, the Bulldogs felt right at home taking out a 26-24 over
cellar-dwellers the Titans. A late rush from the visiting team wasn't
enough as Canterbury defied their opposition as well as their own poor
completion rate (just 18 from 36 sets at 50%) to win by two.

While their NRL counterparts played in one of the wettest games of the
weekend, the Toyota Cup sides for this Eels v Knights showdown enjoyed
relatively dry conditions. Parramatta's young livewire Marmin Barba
continued to display some of the fine form that has helped the Eels push
toward top 8 contention in recent weeks, scoring a double on the way to
a 28-8 win over a Newcastle side fast falling out of the equation for a
finals spot.

The Cowboys showed worrying second-half form despite holding on for a
two point win at home on Saturday night. The hosts led 22-6 heading into
the final 15 minutes before a late flurry from the Roosters fell just
short. The 22-20 victory keeps the Cowboys in the top four for another
week.

The Cronulla side came to Melbourne knowing a big task was ahead against
the league leaders - but a spirited first-half effort propelled the
visitors to a 24-10 halftime lead which the Storm could not match into
the second half. The 7-tries-to-5 loss for the Storm sees them vacate
first position, with the Warriors' bye points seeing them take that
mantle on differential.

The Wests Tigers showed plenty of class to keep pace with the leading
pack in the 2011 competition, exacting a 34-22 win over the Dragons at
Kogarah on Sunday. A halftime lead of 18-10 was more than enough for the
visiting side to go on with the job in the second half, although the
Dragons did produce a two-try surge which had the Tigers on edge for a
short period of time.

A surprisingly lowscoring affair at the foot of the mountains saw the
Panthers come from behind with ten minutes remaining. The hosts were
down 16-8 as the clock wound down, but two late tries and a vital
conversion from Blake Austin saw Penrith home, confining 2010 Grand
Finalists South Sydney to 13th position for another week.